…..all's fair in love and war?...
Max turns to Issy, staring her down. Issy meets his gaze confidently. "Are you sure? It's nothing like the skirmishes you've been in."
"We believe that peace is hard won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace." Issy quoted the manifesto at him.
Max sighed, rubbing his face. "Harrison can you make sure that 226 have the necessary kit for their transfer? Choose a good squadron for them to shadow as they learn the ropes and make an appointment with Christina to get their measurement for their armor." He turns back to Issy and Hector, both of whom are trying not to outwardly smile. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Sir!"
At dinner the next day, Issy and Hector told their family of their transfer and got a lot of different responses from them. Lynn and Shauna demanded why Hector didn't run the choice by them first, and Declan and Hugo did the same with Issy. Josh, Lilah, Jason, Kayden, Uri, and Alec were proud of their decision to help the faction and argued against Tris, Will, Cody and Sam who thought it was a bad idea.
A range of other emotions flickered across the others. Apart from the frown on Four's face, he gave no other emotion away. Bree, while worried for them, understood their reasonings and supported their decision. Christina could finally burst, having kept it a secret since earlier that morning, when 226 went to get their measurements for a new bullet proof uniform. Alec happily babbled on about he designed and manufactured the shield they would be using and began to talk Issy and Hector's ears off about the specifications of it until Jason told him to shut up.
Once everyone had settled from the announcement, conversation moved onto Bree and Noah's upcoming wedding in just under two months. Issy laughed from Bree's side as her sister babbled on happily, describing their theme. The rest of the girls, apart from Lynn, started talking about dresses and what they would wear, and they could match. Issy shared a look with Alec, and the twins burst out laughing.
Everything felt okay. They were in a good place.
Bree's voice suddenly stopped talking and Alec elbowed Issy's side. She looked up to see Eric walking in their direction. While the past few weeks Eric had been sitting with the Leaders or Declan at a different table to Issy, this would be the first time in a while that she and Eric had been in close quarters with each other.
"Hey Eric!" Dec called out. "You alright?"
Eric nodded slowly as he looked over the table before his eyes fell on Issy. She froze. Issy didn't expect him to look at her. Her breath hitched as he met her eyes and she stared into those stormy orbs. Eric cleared his throat. "I need to talk to you."
Surprise hit her and the table fell silent. "Um, okay?"
"Not here." Eric motions his head towards the cafeteria doors. "Please?"
Issy hesitates but she stands up, glancing quickly to Bree. Her sister has a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looks between Issy and Eric and Issy rolls her eyes. Once Issy stood at his side, Eric placed his hand on her lower back and begun to guide her out of the room. When they walked past the Leader's table, Kim made a puking face and Max watched them through narrowed eyes.
When they exited the room, Eric continued to lead her away and towards the North block lifts. The walked in silence and Issy shivered at the heat she could feel radiating from Eric. She wondered if Eric would finally tell her what's been going on these past few weeks and why he's been ignoring her.
Soon enough, Eric ushered her into the lift and pressed their floor. Issy shoved herself into one of the corners while Eric settled himself against the wall. A stubborn part of Issy refused to speak first since it was Eric to put distance between them and it was Eric that asked to talk. It was the part that was hurt because he ignored her without a reason why and the part that was still angry with him for withdrawing her request. Though her curiosity won through and she glanced at him. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned back and watched the numbers change. His face was relaxed, calm even, but his eyes were guarded from her. Her heart clenched in pain for herself but also for Eric, who glanced at her with a long yearning look before looking away.
Issy mentally slapped herself.
I am angry with him and hurt… Don't start feeling sorry for him!
The lift doors pulled open and Eric motioned her to go first. Issy stepped out and Eric followed after her, his hand falling back to her lower back. his hand moves from her when they reach his apartment and he unlocks the door, opening it wide for her to enter.
Issy hesitates again. Her eyes dart up to him, staring long enough for Eric to look down at her.
A muscle in Eric's jaw twitches and he bites his lip. "Please?" He asks again and Issy steps in slowly.
She stands in the middle of his living room, looking around as Eric walks in and shuts the door behind him. The last time Issy was here was when Eric was taking care of her after Emmett attacked her. She closed her eyes, remembering how Eric looked after her and held her so gently… It felt like a lifetime ago…
When she opens her eyes, she finds Eric watching her with his head tilted to the side. Their eyes catch and he doesn't look away. He regards her carefully. Issy doesn't speak, her eyebrow twitches up, still expecting him to start. Eric's jaw clenches, his fists curl up, and he looks away from her.
"I need you to do something for me." Eric's dark voice echoes through the room and Issy frowns at the controlled anger she hears. His eyes slowly meet hers again, the storm raging on quietly. "I need you to withdraw from the front lines."
All thoughts – all words that Issy thought he'd say – are pulled to a halt in her head. Issy doesn't understand, she's only trying to help her faction… "What?"
"I need you to withdraw from the front lines." He repeats, his voice becoming firmer, colder.
Issy scoffs quietly, shaking her head. She doesn't believe it… anger flares within her and her breathing becomes heavy. "So," Issy starts – gasps, her heart is in her throat and even though her anger commands her words, sadness rules her body, mind, and heart. "It's perfectly okay for you to charge into enemy safe houses with bombs in the ground but I can't patrol areas with idiots that don't have proper gun training?"
"You don't understand –"
A snarl forms on her mouth, her anger roaring in her ears. "Oh, I understand that you're not supporting my decision, one that you had no right in withdrawing!"
"I'm saving your life!" Eric roars at her. "If you didn't have to behave like a child about it, I wouldn't have had to go over your head!"
Tears well in her eyes. "A – a child?"
Eric opens his mouth with wide eyes as he realised what he said. "Issy – I didn't –" He steps towards her but Issy steps away. "I didn't mean –"
Issy closes her eyes and a single tear slips down her face. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes, blazing gold, and glaring at Eric. "I have five members of my squadron who have training on the frontlines, the rest of us will begin training for it with the next week." On the outside she is deathly calm but inside Issy is seething. "All I ask is that you support my decision."
Eric shakes his head again, a rueful smile on his face. "You still don't understand –"
"THEN TELL ME!" Issy snaps at him, her body beginning to tremble. "Tell me what is so goddamn important that you don't trust me! Tell me!"
"I – I can't! You don't have the authorization."
Issy scoffs at him. "Authorization? Are you fucking kidding me? You're telling me to back out, but you won't give me the reason?" Issy sneers at him and bares her teeth. "In what scenario did you think that would be enough?"
"Issy!" Eric breathes, his fingers rubbing circle on his temples. "I'm trying to protect you!"
"Protect me?" Issy laughs, shaking her head at the circles Eric keeping taking their conversation in. "No. If you were trying to protect me, you'd tell me why I'm in danger. Fuck the authorization!"
"I can't disobey a direct order –"
"AND I AM NOT A HOUSEWIFE THAT WILL SIT AND WAIT FOR YOU TO GET HOME!" Issy roars at him and Eric blinks in surprise. They're both aware that Emmett's words hurt her more than she let on, but Issy didn't expect such lack of faith from him.
Eric watches her with a small bit of caution before he begins to shake his head again. "I can't –"
"You can't or you won't?" Issy asks him, staring him down. Eric's eyes pull up from the ground and meet hers. The silence stretches on and still, Eric doesn't answer her. Issy laughs in disbelief, tears slipping down her cheeks when she realised Eric chose his job over her… Over them. She begins to walk to the door and Eric doesn't move to stop her, only watches her with a pained look. She pauses at his side and shrugs half-heartedly. "Then I can't withdraw it." She walks past him and grabs the door handle when Eric's voice quietly calls out to her.
"You can't or you won't?"
Issy scoffs again as she pulls the door open. "When you come up with a reason for whatever, I'd love hear it." Her voice quivers with tears and she gasps, trying to stay calm. "Right now, it sounds a lot like you don't think I can't handle being a squadron captain, a soldier of Dauntless, and that fucking hurts." She brings her sleeve up to wipe away the tears when her vision becomes burry. Issy's voice is broken and crumbling when she next speaks. "I'd support you Eric, no matter what…"
When Issy slams the door behind her, it feels like her heart is breaking along with it, and Issy collapses against his door, sliding to the ground. She cries quietly as she hugs her knees in the darkened hallway. A distressed roar comes from inside the apartment and something cracks. She lets out a loud sob. Her chest hurts and her head pounds as she sits there.
A distressed roar comes from inside the apartment and something cracks.
Wiping her face against her sleeve, Issy stands up with shaky legs and makes her way to the lifts. She didn't want to go home, not when it's in such close proximity as him. Issy pulls her hood over her head as the lift makes its way down the ground floor of the Pit. She didn't want to go to Bree. Issy loved her sister, but she didn't want to speak…
She didn't want to be found…
Issy knocks on the door once she reaches her destination. There's quiet voices on the other side and the door opens.
"Issy?" Lilah asks and Issy pulls down her hood. "Issy, are you alright?"
Issy lifts her head up and Lilah gasps at her tear stained cheeks and red rimmed eyes. "Please," She whispers as new tears fall. "I just want my brother."
Lilah quickly guides her inside. "Alec!"
Alec pops out from one of the rooms, grinning. The grin slipped from his face when he saw his sister and he held out his arms. Issy sobbed, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Shhh," Alec mumbled, stroking her hair. "It's okay." Alec moves them on the couch and Issy curls into him, sobbing into his shoulder.
Eric's reasonings behind his actions are in his outtake, what I've just posted.